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“Do you want to try it?” I asked, searching on my phone for a karaoke version. That was always a quick way to test a song.
He loudly cleared his throat and made a noise that sounded like he was trying to cough up a hair ball. “Okay,” he said, his voice all scratchy. “I’m ready now.”
I hit Play. Despite Trenton’s preparations, he didn’t bother trying to imitate Joe Cocker, which was for the best. I would hate for him to damage his voice by doing something for a laugh. Of course, he was the professional, so he probably knew that better than I did.
After we’d fumbled through the song, Trenton nodded. “Good choice.”
“Thanks.” I’d been trying to think outside the box, choosing songs that were both recognizable but not so recent that everyone would have heard them on the radio right before watching the show.
The performance went smoothly, and one of the guys was voted off.
The following week’s theme was Broadway with the stipulation that the musical couldn’t have been adapted from a movie. This made it easy for me to choose a song because while my music program had focused on opera, we’d also done a little bit of musical theatre. I called in my choice—“The Phantom of the Opera”—before even consulting Trenton. He’d always been game for every song I’d thrown at him, so I figured he wouldn’t mind. Besides, with my opera training, the song was perfect for me. I doubted many other contestants could hit an E6.
When I informed Trenton about my song selection, he shocked the hell out of me. “We’re doing costumes.”
I did a double take. “What?”
“I want to wear the mask,” he said. “It’s cool as fuck.”
Not the words I would have used, but okay. “Are you going to wear an opera cloak too?”
“Nope—not that I even know what that is—but I’m wearing the mask.”
I shook my head. Of all the costumes for him to get excited over, I never would have expected that one. A matching costume for me should be easy enough—I would simply need a ball gown. “We should let the costume department know, then.”
He grinned. “Ben is going to lose his shit that I get to be the Phantom before he does.” Ben was another member of Misdirection who’d gone on to have a successful Broadway career.
“It’s only one song. It’s not like—”
He put a hand over my mouth. “Shut it, you. I’m wearing the mask, so it counts.”
When it came time to perform, I was honest-to-God nervous for the first time. I wouldn’t say that singing pop songs was easy, but it was a far cry from singing “Phantom.” The high notes at the end left little room for error. A singer either hit the notes beautifully or she missed them, making a sound that would shatter glass.
In the dressing room, Georgia held my dress so I could step into it. I didn’t know where the costume department had found the thing, but it was gorgeous. But with all the beadwork, it was heavy. Luckily, I wasn’t planning to walk around for the performance. It was difficult to move in, but thankfully, the waist wasn’t tight. While some of my fellow students in my music program had preferred singing while wearing corsets, I’d hated it.
“Oh… my… goodness!” Georgia’s accent hadn’t been so thick since she’d blessed the heart of the girl from her debutante ball. “You look amazing. Girl, I would have picked a song fromPhantomjust so I could wear this dress if I had known.” She eyed the garment bag containing the gingham dress she was going to wear for her performance of a song fromOklahoma. “I’m so tired of plaid.”
“Gingham and plaid are two different things.”
She shrugged. “They’re close enough. Hopefully, next week’s theme won’t require it. There—you’re all zipped and buttoned up.” My dress had a tiny line of buttons down the back. The detail was truly amazing.
I slipped into my shoes, and Georgia strapped them for me. I was super paranoid about damaging the dress. Luckily, my performance was first, while Georgia’s was next to last, so she could help me get out of it. It would only take her a few minutes to change into her outfit.
I touched up my lipstick one last time and checked to make sure none of it had rubbed onto my teeth. “I think I’m ready.”
“You’d better be,” Georgia replied, “because you’re out of time. Break a leg!”
“Thanks.” I left the dressing room and headed to the stage. The same tech who had been stationed there at dress rehearsal earlier that day greeted me.
“Right on time.” She nodded. I wondered what they would do if someone was late, especially the first performer. That would throw off the entire show. I was glad I wasn’t in charge of wrangling everyone. Just thinking about it stressed me out.
The tech pressed her finger to her earpiece. “Trenton is also ready.”
Usually, Trenton and I walked onstage together, but for that night’s performance, I would already be there when it started, and he would enter from the opposite side. That meant that for the first time, he wouldn’t be able to kiss my hand before we went out. The realization made me break into a cold sweat, and I flapped my arms, trying to keep from dampening the underarms of my dress. I must have looked like a lunatic or like I was trying to take flight.
Closing my eyes, I exhaled. “It’s fine,” I said to myself. “You’re fine. It’s all fine.”
The tech gave me a tight, sympathetic smile.
